How To Be Happy In Challenging Times Part 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had the pleasure of chairing an Event run by the Spirit Of Coaching at the Brahma Kumar’s entitled: How To Happy In Challenging Times. I spent today transcribing most of what was shared by the three presenters are all spiritual teachers and coaches. I was so moved by so much of what was shared that in no way did I fully absorb as I carried out my role of chairing the conversations.

I am sharing a few snippets from the conversations from all three in hope that you will take some time to listen to the video and have your own experience of the conversations.

For coaches there is  somuch wisdom here about how to coach and hold a space for individuals workignin organisations where there is constant pressure, stress and change on how to move beyond their fears and limiting beliefs in these challenging times, how to build resilience and connect with our own true nature.

All three speakers speak passionately about the need to reconnect with the unconditional self which when we connect in with is always in a state of peace, harmony and love. You can watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHYwQeNm7Y

In my first excerpt I share Robert Holden’s exploration of how to navigate our way through challenging times and a powerful definition of what it means to be a coach.

“When we run into the challenging times if we pay attention to them we will notice, there is no so such things as the dark night of the soul, when I really pay attention to myself in the middle of a challenging time what I can feel when I really pay attention is that what I call a dark night of the soul is really a dark night of the ego.

It’s my personality that’s going through the trouble. It’s my self-image that’s rocked.  It’s my ego that’s having the really hard time and actually when I can attend to that suffering of the self-image of the ego and of the pain amazingly I begin to be aware of the big happiness. The support that is somehow there behind the scenes and the support that is offered from the soul, is always in a state of harmony, in a state of peace and happiness, that is the big happiness from the unconditioned self.

In a challenging time we are called to bring our self image, our ego, our personality, whatever you want to call it, our separate self we are asked to bring it back to the soul, to the self that we all share and rest and take instruction and have guidance and support along the way.

When we do this then we don’t just fight those challenging times in quite the same way. Everybody has had their fair share of challenging times and what’s awkward about a challenging time is that the one you’re in now often feels like the one you are not going to get through. Who you think you are won’t be able to get through that challenging time but who you really are can and will. Challenging times are asking us to come back to ourselves and let go of those toxic beliefs and to let who we think we are so we can access the truth of who we really are.

A coach is someone who is not fooled by your appearance. You’ve been telling them for an hour that your stuck and they are tempted to believe you but they are not going to. Because they know that it can only be the ego that’s stuck, the self -mage that’s stuck. You’ve been telling your coach for an hour that you’ve tried everything and it almost sounds true, partly because you believe it but it would only be the self-image that has tried everything. There’s a lot more to try beyond that.

Robert Holden, How To Be Happy In  Challenging Times, Spirit of Coaching, April 14^th 2013

• How does what Robert describes reflect and impact on your work as a coach?
• How much can you relate to of what Robert describes?
• How have you come through your own dark night of the soul?
• One of the quotes from Robert is that when, “ the coach is ready the client will appear.” That many of our clients come to teach us about our own lives and help us to develop and grow? What are your thoughts and reflection on this possibility? What evidence do you have of this happening? What connections can you make with the parallel process we talk about in coaching supervision?

Find out more about Robert Holden at: http://www.happiness.co.uk/